Like fallen from the sky
by AlexiaD99
Summary: The chance of running into one of the few other List-A famous Ohioans is small. Smaller are the chances of him falling right into your arms. But when that does happen, can Kurt and Blaine have a normal relationship with the media and a whole ocean keeping them apart?
1. The fall

Man, I'm glad I'm back! ;)

Thanks to my amazing beta InLoveWithDarren who still puts up with me!

**Trigger Warning**: This story stays true to the fact that we lost Finn. It's not a big part of the story but it's there.

Disclamer: I do not own Glee.

P.S.: I do realize this author's note is a bunch of completely unrelated sentences. I don't feel like doing something about it.

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><p><strong>Like fallen from the sky<strong>

**Chapter 1**

"Son, stop pacing! You're making me more nervous than any medical procedure could."

"Okay, okay.I… I'll sit down, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Burt smiled mockingly as his son tapped the floor repeatedly with his foot.

"I'm worried." Kurt defended himself. "I don't have the best memories of you and hospitals, remember?"

"It's just a check up, Kurt. One I still don't understand why you insisted on coming to."

"I'm never around for these things. But I still worry, dad."

"I get it," Burt said, placing his hand over Kurt's, "but I have been just fine for years and I plan on being around for many more."

"I'm holding you to that."

Burt's doctor, Doctor Boothe, entered the room. He explained to them that there was a slight abnormality that he'd rather Burt stayed overnight to check on. He went on explaining how there was a ninety eight percent probability it was nothing and that he just wanted to be sure, but it was really hard for Kurt not to let his mind go spiraling to darkness. Kurt Hummel was a very successful, very accomplished, very independent twenty five year old. However, when something threatened to take his father from him, he was nothing more than a confused and frightened teen.

Burt, of course, sensed it. As soon as the doctor took them to a room and left them alone, he was speaking to Kurt again.

"It's gonna be fine, Kurt. They're pretty sure it's nothing, didn't you hear?"

"That's not what he said, dad."

"But that's what he meant." Burt said matter-of-factly. "Come on, you never come visit and now I have an excuse to guilt you into spending the whole night sitting next to me and catching up."

"Dad!"

The thing was, Kurt realized two hours later, that once he let go a bit of his worries, he was actually enjoying the evening. Being back home had been hard for a while and he couldn't remember the last time he had had a time like this with Carole and his dad. Burt said he was thirsty, so Kurt volunteered himself to go get a soda from the vending machine.

There was a guy on crutches at the machine, so Kurt stood a couple of steps behind. It was just because there was nothing to look at in a deserted corner of a hospital that Kurt's eyes diverted down enough to notice what a nice butt the man had. He was about to feel mortified for looking when the man went to turn, but instead, he saw the crutch falter and the guy trip and in no time he had his arms full of a cute, injured man. And then he looked at him, and…oh. Ohio really _was _a small place.

The man was looking at him, too. His eyes wide and surprised and then there was recognition and a bit of something warm that Kurt couldn't name but couldn't look away from.

"It's not everyday that you fall into Peter Pan's arms, is it?" Blaine said.

Kurt couldn't help the smile, cliché as what he had said was, because Blaine's beautiful, earnest eyes were so close that not smiling was simply not an option. "I don't exactly go through my life catching soccer superstars, either." He had to say back because, again, eyes (and also a bit of history of fangirling, but that's in the past… maybe).

Blaine smiled again and held to Kurt's arm. The touch made Kurt realize he was still holding him. He helped Blaine to his good foot, as he was purposely keeping the swollen one up. He picked up the crutches and held him by the waist as Blaine maneuvered with them.

"Thank you for that," Blaine said.

"No problem. Actually, I'll probably make my dad's otherwise-dull, hospitalized night when I tell him who I ran into."

"Oh, shit. Is he okay?" Blaine looked genuinely concerned.

"Yes, yes. It's just a checkup, they're pretty sure it's nothing." After muchtime trying to sound calm, Kurt had really started to actually calm down a little about Burt's health.

"Good, great." Blaine said. "Sorry, was that weird? It's just, after everything he did… his work means a lot to me, obviously, but he also seems to be such a great guy. "

Kurt laughed. "It's fine, I get it and he is. He is the best thing that has happened to Congress lately, though I'm his son, so…." He said playfully.

"No, I totally agree" Blaine said, smiling. "Actually, is he going to be here until the morning? I have to come back and maybe… I have always wanted to meet him."

"Of course, he would love it." He looked at Blaine, who seemed nervous. It was endearing, so for his sake he added, "You know that."

Blaine pressed his lips together. "Okay, I would be here around nine, does that work for you?"

"Yes, we'd be here." He was not trying to make it clear he was going to be there too. Not at all.

"Great! So, he's from The Crew, right?"

"Sorry, what?"

Blaine laughed and it didn't even bother Kurt, his laugh was so sweet. "Do you know which his team is?"

"Oh, yes." But Kurt couldn't say 'the one you were at when you came out', even if that was all he knew about it. Wait, wasn't it from Columbus? "The Columbus one, I think, the one you played at."

"That's The Crew," Blaine said with a cute smile and shinny eyes. It did things to Kurt.

"Great. I think I should go back, see you tomorrow?" He said.

"Yeah, yeah, me too" Blaine said "And thanks again."

"Is all right. Be careful, though." He responded, as Blaine turned the corner.

Kurt returned to the room, remembering at the door that he still didn't have a soda. What he did have was a good story as an excuse.

It was getting late and Kurt insisted on staying. Carole argued she could stay and Burt argued he would be fine alone, but if something made Kurt Hummel Kurt Hummel, it was his perseverance (some would call it stubbornness but his second Broadway show booked said otherwise).

Carole had already left when Burt asked, "What was Blaine's injury again?"

"I don't know, his foot was swollen and he wasn't leaning on it but I don't really know" Kurt looked away. "You can ask him tomorrow. He was,like, super excited to meet you." He tried really hard to sound indifferent.

"What is that emotion I'm sensing?" Burt asked, mischievous.

"What?"

"Mm, you're not upset, it's not that… You sounded sarcastic but you're not angry… interesting."

"I'm not following you, dad."

"I had forgotten of those old high school nights." Burt winked.

"Dad!"

But Kurt was remembering too, all the images had been coming back to him since Blaine fell in his arms. He didn't even remember the first time he heard about Blaine, however at some point he had become that kid who was Kurt's age and played in a soccer team that his dad kept mentioning when he tried to talk sports with Kurt. Eventually, Kurt had learned his name, but he had never even seen his face.

_He was just flipping through the channels one night when a really cute boy caught his attention. He barely noticed it was Fox Sports, because this boy's eyes were a beautiful golden, his curls made you want to run your hands through them and his smile, his smile made you smile, it was like being injected by a ray of sunshine. _

_"So, you going to start watching soccer with me now?" Burt asked with a grin, appearing beside him._

_Kurt blushed furiously and looked back at the TV, this time actually reading the banner, he was lusting over the very one Blaine Anderson._

_"I wouldn't mind, you know, if you watched for the cute boys."_

_Kurt tried for a smile, it was great his dad was so fine with his sexuality, even when things were still a little weird._

_It wasn't that Kurt became Blaine's biggest fanboy after that, but he did watch once in a while, even if he still didn't care about the sport, those were good shorts._

_It was a low night at the Hummel- Hudson's during Kurt's senior year. Burt called from the stairs for Kurt to hurry back down to the TV. The news report read 'Blaine Anderson, recently recruited by LA Galaxy, comes out as gay'._

_"This is great, Kurt, this is so good." His dad said as soon as he sat down._

_"Mm, why are you so excited?"_

_"Don't you get it? This is just what we needed."_

_"Yay, the community was missing someone for the soccer team!" Kurt answered sarcastic, "What would we need him for? You're not making any sense, dad."_

_"Of course I am. I'm talking about the campaign. You know very well that you coming out was kind of hard for me at the beginning but I knew you were my son and I loved you and it was my job to get my shit together. Well, for lot of guys like me, whose son isn't you, there has never been a reason for that. And, besides the obvious not-their-son factor, this is our chance to show them what you showed me. Blaine plays soccer better than any one in this country nowadays and if he doesn't let it go to his head he's going to be in the best European teams any time soon. These kind of guys care about that and if they are going to be cheering for him in the field they should sort out if they're willing to stand up for him in other fields, too. We can show them that they should support his rights. And if we take advantage of this, maybe even work together with Blaine, we can get someimportant support to our cause from people we weren't expecting, like soccer fans and soccer clubs."_

"_Ok…" Kurt was speechless, "You really are the best, dad."_

"_I know" Burt smiled, throwing an arm around him. "Wanna watch some soccer with me?" He asked,"They're repeating Blaine's last game with The Crew this past season."_

_Kurt nodded and actually paid attention for most of the game._

_He graduated and moved to New York not long after but he always kept an eye on his dad campaigning for LGBTQ rights. Burt contacted Blaine's manager, his brother Cooper. Blaine publicly supported Burt and Burt publicly supported Blaine. Blaine attended events in LA to give their propositions popularity and Burt did his part in Congress. More states kept passing marriage equality, gender identity laws got better. Burt and Blaine spoke on the phone a couple of times but never got to meet in person._

_Then Blaine went to Italy to play for Inter of Milan, even there, never shy to speak up when an issue aroused. However, they lost touch._

_Meanwhile Kurt graduated from NYADA and got his first big role as Mark in a revival of Rent. Rachel, already a Broadway star and who played a part in him getting the role, was his Maureen._

_Clearly, Kurt thought before falling asleep next to his dad, the Hummel – Anderson meeting of the next morning was long overdue. What he wasn't expecting was his sixteen year old feelings to make a comeback for the reunion. Mostly, because that had been his Blaine-Anderson-is-the-cutest-thing-to-ever-walk-the-earth phase._

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><p>Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought?<p> 


	2. The reunion

**Chapter 2: The reunion**

Having woken up way too early when a nurse came to check on his dad's monitor, Kurt found it impossible to go back to sleep. He was a bit anxious but his dad seemed to be anxious too. It made the situation less embarrassing and more entertaining when they caught each other drumming their fingers or looking constantly at the door.

There was a knock on said door at nine sharp. All that could be seen through the distorting glass of the door's window was a mop of dark curls.

Kurt opened the door with a smile and what he deemed as an over enthusiastic "Hey!"

But Blaine was smiling back his smile of all rainbows and sunshine and responded with an equally excited "Hi, Kurt!" Kurt held the door wide open for him.

Blaine seemed so genuinely excited to meet Burt; it was super cute in a strangely familiar way. It felt like a reunion with a nerve-wracking factor of way too soon. Kurt was getting ahead of himself.

He didn't find it very surprising, based on what he knew about him, that Blaine was absolutely charming. It was quite hard to resist, though. Blaine had brought Burt a Columbus Crew cap that he immediately placed in his bald head.

Burt barely waited for pleasantries to be done to look at Blaine's bandaged foot and ask, "How bad is that? Will you be okay for the beginning of the season?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. Blaine answered it would be six weeks until it heeled completely, so he would only miss part of the training but would be okay to play once the season started.

"Great! What happened, anyway?"

Blaine lowered his head, looking self-conscious. Kurt was starting to question if the man was for real.

"I was just playing around with my little cousins, I tried to show off a little and ended up with a sprained ankle."

"Ouch. They mad at you?" Burt asked.

"Not sure. I'm kind of escaping from that conversation right now. My brother and the doctor who treated me yesterday are on Skype with the coach and our doctor in Milan as we speak."

Burt laughed. "I don't think coach can be mad at you after last season."

"I wouldn't be so sure. But, worst case, I would sit for the first couple of games. I can live with that."

They went on like that; Kurt just stood against the wall and watched. A younger Kurt would have been hurt, seeing his dad interact so easy with a guy Kurt's age because of stuff Kurt didn't care about. But that was long in the past.

It was Blaine who incorporated Kurt back to the conversation. "You're really not into sports, are you?" He asked, his voice light and inviting.

"Not at all. I'm theatre guy, through and through."

"Hey! They're not mutually exclusive. I love Broadway. I actually saw you in Rent a couple of times," Blaine said.

"Really?" This was interesting new information for Kurt.

"Yeah, I mean, I went there the first time because of Rachel. I loved her in Funny Girl, I just had to see her as Maureen. But I'm going to confess your Mark kind of stole my heart." Blaine was looking at him intensely; Burt completely forgotten.

Kurt's work had been quite praised and it had been said his Mark was very easy to sympathize with. But the way Blaine was phrasing it, it made Kurt wish his Kurt could steal Blaine's heart, too.

"You should come see me as Peter, then." He said with a bit of an air of superiority, just because he couldn't bring himself to say it as he felt it. He was feeling quite vulnerable already at the way Blaine was looking at him.

"I plan on that."

They kept their eyes on each other for a pregnant moment, when Kurt couldn't take it anymore he looked away to see that yes, even when he had been immersed in a world of just Blaine, his dad was still laying in the bed in front of him, looking at them with a smirk.

"So…" Burt started and only then did Blaine tear his admiring gaze from Kurt's face, his cheeks tinted from being caught as he turned to Burt.

Kurt couldn't tell how but Burt managed to get the three of them back into comfortable, light conversation.

They talked for quite a while and Kurt managed to relax completely. Then, Blaine's phone rang.

"Hi Coop, how is that going?" He asked.

"Really? Already? Cool!"

"It hasn't been…" Blaine looked at the watch on his wrist, "Wow, it _has_ been two hours."

"Yeah, I guess." He pressed his lips together. "Ok, see you there."

He hung up and turned to look at the Hummels, first Burt, and then his eyes stayed on Kurt. "I should be going, Cooper is leaving and he's my ride home."

"That's fine. Thanks for coming, kid, it was nice to finally meet you," Burt answered.

"No, thanks… thank you, Burt. I have always wanted to tell you this so I'd better take the chance. When I came out, I wasn't quite sure what I was doing, I knew I didn't want to move to LA and keep hiding but I didn't give consequences much of a thought. And then, when the repercussions were getting at me and it just wasn't slowing down, I was pretty lost. And you called Cooper and you gave me a reason, you gave me a way to channel that into something good. You always say we had the same goal so we joined forces, but actually it was you who gave me the dream and the motivation. I have always wanted to thank you for that."

Through his own watery eyes, Kurt could see his dad was equally affected.

"It was my pleasure, kid. It really was," Burt said with emotion in his tone, he pulled Blaine into a hug.

"Okay, you take care. We have a world to change, you know," Blaine joked.

Burt laughed.

Blaine turned to Kurt. "I'll see you around. Maybe we can have a few drinks when I go see the show in New York?" He asked, his voice small and shy.

"Yeah, sure," Kurt answered breathlessly.

"Great!" Blaine gave him a full smile that lasted a few seconds, then turned to the door.

As soon as Blaine had his back to him, Burt gave Kurt a pointed look, moving his head towards where Blaine was leaving. 'Go' he muttered.

A tiny part of Kurt wanted to make a joke about how Burt was doing that just because he was Blaine's biggest fan. But he knew that his dad look was more of a 'You clearly like the guy, stop staring at him gaping like a fish and go get him' than anything else. He may have not wanted to admit it but Burt had a point. There was something there, if he wanted it, he should go and get it.

He rushed to the door to hold it open for Blaine. He stepped outside after Blaine, closing the door behind him. "Blaine" He called softly.

Blaine turned around, his cutest smile on.

"I…" _Get yourself together, Hummel_! "Can I take you out for dinner some day this week?"

Blaine's eyes got shinny as his smile grew impossibly wider. "I'd like that, yeah."

"Good. Give me your number and I'll text you?" Kurt extended him his phone, a little too proud of himself.

They said goodbye again, Blaine did it with a touch to Kurt's arm that gave him goose bumps.

Back in the hospital room, Burt gave him and amused look.

"Happy?" Kurt asked in fake disinterest.

"Quite. You?"

"I've been worse." And he managed to keep from smiling for a hole second before giving into it.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	3. The date

Thank you InLoveWithDarren for the betaing!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: The date<strong>

The problem with asking Blaine out in Ohio, Kurt quickly realized, was that it was new for him. He knew how to take a guy on a date but that had been once in college and in New York. What did people do in Lima aside from Breadsticks? He was not taking Blaine to a place where they would be disturbed constantly by either soccer or theatre fans, but neither Lima nor Westerville had much of an elegant, private restaurant. He would drive all the way to Columbus, but wasn't Blaine the biggest idol there? And he couldn't cook for him at his parents when Burt had (thankfully) just been released from the hospital.

That's how he found himself thinking a little more creatively. Ohio did provide a good few private, open places. He feared it was a little too much for a first date, but he managed to talk himself into going all in.

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><p>He pulled over in front of the Anderson's house five minutes early. He was just getting out of the car when the door opened and Blaine started to walk towards it. Kurt hurried to open the passenger's door for him, smiling as Blaine approached.<p>

Blaine looked gorgeous and almost unrecognizable. His usual mop of curls was gelled down and he wore a turquoise bow tie over a pink polo. It was equal parts cute and ridiculous; it was perfect.

"Hey! You're getting better with those." Kurt said when Blaine maneuvered around the crutches smoothly to get inside the car.

"I'm told I should be better with them with my profession but I don't get injured as often as statistics say," Blaine joked.

"How's that?" Kurt asked confused.

"I'm a number 10... Which I realize now, means nothing to you" He giggled. "Basically, I'm the conductor, I put together the move. So, I'm the one playing fancy against the big guys on defense and I'm a tiny guy who runs fast, I hit the ground a lot."

"I honestly don't understand how that's fun for anyone." Kurt said playfully as he started the car. "Especially you."

Blaine laughed. "The fun part isn't when I hit the ground but when I manage my way around these guys, though…"

"Not convincing me yet."

"That's fair enough." Blaine smiled, his eyelashes fluttering and his eyes shinny with something that looked like… fascination? Kurt wanted that look to never go away.

"I wouldn't have guessed you as a Beatles guy." Blaine said a minute or so later, pointing to the stereo, where 'Oh, darling' was playing.

"There's such a thing as not a Beatles person?"

"I guess you're right, it just surprised me."

"I have more layers than that, Blaine," Kurt said a little hurt.

"That's not what I meant. Of course you do," Blaine noticed Kurt's expression and hurried to clarify. "It's nice to see them, that's all."

"I know I come out as hard to approach, but that's not really me. I just like my privacy. It's hard enough to bare your soul in a stage to do it all over again once you get down. That doesn't mean there isn't more to me that what I show." It was weird, talking to Blaine like that. Talking so freely in a way he spoke to only a few. But it felt safe to be sincere.

"Sorry," Blaine started.

Kurt interrupted him, "Nothing to be sorry for."

"But I get it" Blaine kept going, "I guess it's not the exact same thing and I may not respond to it the same way, but I know what feeling exposed is like."

They felt into silence. A silence that seemed to recognize something; a silence that sounded like forgiveness and belonging.

"I did tell my family who I was going out with and you aren't quite easy to miss, Kurt. Are you sure I'm worth a whole life of prison?" Blaine asked, looking at the deserted road.

"What are you talking about?"

"We're in the middle of nowhere; I'm running out of ideas other than you being a serial killer and this being a ploy."

Kurt snorted. "I'm sorry, but I think I'm taking the risk, anyway. Hair gel is a bit of a weakness for me. But thinking of it, you're probably a better bargain if kidnapped." He said making himself sound serious.

Blaine pouted, with puppy eyes and all. It was, dead on, the cutest thing Kurt had seen in his twenty six years of life.

"That's actual serial killer persuading material." He said.

"Yes! I knew you wouldn't resist 'The pout'."

"With great power comes great responsibility, Blaine. Don't overdo that thing."

"Superheroes references, you're a man after my own heart." Blaine smiled heart-eyed and added, "But, seriously, where are we going?"

"Not even the pout could get me to tell you."

"You're mean." Blaine stuck out his tongue.

"The meanest." Earlier, Kurt had been nervous about having gotten a little carried away with his date planning, but he was starting to believe Blaine would appreciate the effort.

Kurt kept driving into the woods for a while until they finally reached their destination. Blaine looked around as they parked, as if trying to figure out what was so special about this particular part of the woods. "Are we going in there?" He asked wryly, pointing at the little wooden house.

"Nope," Kurt smirked. He reached for something in the backseat, producing a big picnic basket.

"Would they mind?" Blaine asked, still focusing on the house.

"It's Louise's day free, so she's back in town. We're alone." He took in Blaine's confused look. "She's the forester around here; she has been taking her pick-up to my dad's garage since I can remember." He got out of the car, put the basket down and went to open the door for Blaine. However, he was already getting out of the car on his own; Kurt didn't get to feel very disappointed as he saw Blaine's look of accomplishment as he stood up on his one healthy foot.

Kurt extended a blanket on the ground and offered Blaine his arm to help him sit down. Blaine smiled gratefully.

"Did you break into a restaurant?" Blaine teased as Kurt put multiple containers of food between them.

"Do you have a bad boy thing?" Kurt asked, tilting his head to the side and scrunching his eyes a little.

"Maybe." And had Blaine just bitten his lip?

Kurt looked him in the eye, Blaine's gaze didn't go away. Blaine's smiled softly and Kurt had to smile back. Eventually, Kurt looked away, deciding they should eat before they could move on to... other activities."I'll keep that in mind" he added finally.

They were back to talking about music. Kurt hadn't even realized he was humming the last Beatles' song they had been listening to until Blaine said, "Sing to me". He was looking into Kurt's eyes, his gaze charming, his voice low.

"That's not fair. You've heard me sing but I never heard you, Warbler boy." Kurt teased.

"Then sing with me. I saw you on a stage with thousands of other people, it's not the same."

"You start and if you're good enough for the honor, I'll sing with you."

Blaine didn't push. He sat straighter and took a big breath.

_Hey Jude, don't make it bad.  
>Take a sad song and make it better.<em>

His voice was beautiful, soft but sultry, sweet and sexy. Kurt joined by the third verse, his eyes stung at the realization of how perfectly their voices were together.

"Damn, I had forgotten what your voice does to me." Blaine said when the song ended and he caught his breath. He had that look again, the one Kurt wanted to keep seeing even if he knew it was too early to try and name it.

It was too much, too soon, he deflated. "You're not bad yourself, Anderson."

"Thanks." Blaine answered, shy.

"For real, now. You could do this, big leagues, if you ever wanted to."

"Really? You mean that?" Blaine asked hopeful, "I know I wouldn't be taken seriously now, but I do wonder, if soccer hadn't played out like it did…"

"I don't say these things if I don't believe them. It doesn't matter where you come from, it matters if you're good enough. You're very talented." Kurt said, taking Blaine's hand in his.

Blaine's eyes were wide open in an almost childish way, "Wow, coming from you… that's a lot, Kurt."

"Also really cute, which helps a lot."Kurt added mischievously, eyes fixed on Blaine's.

Blaine scooted even closer, raising his hand to cup Kurt's face. "Did it help you?" He whispered as he leaned in.

Maybe it was the contrast of Blaine's warm lips and the chill of Ohio's fall. Maybe it just had been a while. Maybe it was all Blaine's doing. But as Kurt sucked on Blaine's bottom lip, moving so as he was more on top of him, he thought that a kiss had never felt like that. It wasn't inherently perfect but maybe imperfectly real.

Blaine broke the kiss, still caressing Kurt's cheek and looking at him adoringly.

Kurt started to sit up.

"Hey, no… " Blaine whined.

"We should move on to the second part of the date." Kurt said.

Blaine pouted and shook his head. "I'm comfy, you are comfy. C'mere." He said as he held to Kurt's arm.

Kurt leaned down, shifting to kiss Blaine's throat instead of his pouty mouth. "Then stay here, I'll be right back."

Kurt walked fast to his car, opened the truck and took a white sheet and a box from it, leaving it open.

He took the box to Blaine. "You pick."

"What's…?" He opened the box. "DVD`s? How are we going to watch a movie in the middle of the woods?"

"Easy," Kurt lifted the sheet, "I'm going to set ourselves our personal cinema."

Blaine full of laughed. He pulled Kurt to him and kissed his cheek. "Best date ever."

Kurt smiled. "I don't do unoriginal."

"And that's a great thing about you." Blaine said. "Thank you, no one has ever done anything like this for me before."

"My win, their loss." He said with a peck to Blaine's lips. Something in the way Blaine kept looking at him made him add, "I so wanted a chance to do this when I was a teen. I had actually forgotten until a few days ago but I used to day dream of finding a boy and getting the chance to do this kind of things for him and I had dates like this completely planned out but never had someone to share them with. When I realized I was taking you out here in Ohio, I thought it would be nice to make one of those ideas happen."

Blaine looked thoughtful. "You know what's fascinating for me about that? Back then, I would have killed to have a boy to do something like this with. We only got here a little late."

Kurt pressed his forehead to Blaine's and inhaled, his eyes closed. Was this really a first date? Because it was the most intense first date ever.

It was Blaine who pulled away, "I should pick a movie."

"Yeah, yeah."

Kurt hanged the white sheet on one of the walls of the wooden house. He went to the car and brought a projector and a stool to put it on. He had to walk around Louise's house to find the electric outlet he knew was somewhere. He went back to Blaine, who gave him and old movie he hadn't seen in ages and didn't even remember owning the DVD, 'Under the Tuscan sun'.

When Kurt got back to the blanket, Blaine was lying down, arms open, inviting. He snuggled into Blaine's muscled chest.

"I haven't seen this since I was a kid. It would be fun to watch it again after having seen the real Italy." Blaine explained.

Humming in understanding, Kurt snuggled closer and closer to the warmth of Blaine's body. He fitted so perfectly, everything fitted so perfectly. There was something in the air he had never had. With his exes, Ohio was his thing; he didn't even bring Adam here. And Adam had been serious, Adam had met his father, but Ohio was Kurt's beautiful melancholy, Ohio was Finn in every corner. Ohio was something Kurt never explained and it was him at his most vulnerable. But Blaine was here, he couldn't take Ohio away from Blaine, and more miraculously, Blaine fitted. Even when he had mentioned his brother in passing earlier and his eyes had probably saddened as he knew always happened, Blaine had squeezed his hand and it had felt… real. Blaine couldn't share that feeling, but for him it wasn't a story. He had just heard what had happened back then and had called Burt, but there were things Kurt didn't need to explain because Blaine already knew. And that was a lot when Kurt hated being constantly asked to tell the story of his life as if it wasn't his anymore. Blaine not only knew, it felt as if he was connected to the loose ends of Kurt's life, as if he could fit himself into them. Just another gay boy in another small town with other big dreams, and somehow, a connection that seemed impossible to repeat. And that was a scary thought. It left Kurt as his most vulnerable, there was so much that could be.

But then, there was Italy, looking back at him from the big screen he himself had installed, mocking him. Precious, real, perfect for Kurt, Blaine was committed to a European career and it had hit Kurt in the face with the beauty of those landscapes that looked and felt so foreign. And Blaine was there, while Kurt was in New York, and who knew possibilities could hurt? And did Blaine realize he was holding impossibly tighter?

The movie ended and they stayed like that for a while until Blaine pointed out that they should leave before Kurt got sleepy as he couldn't take his place behind the wheel. Kurt took out the cinema he had installed and came back to help Blaine to his good foot.

The drive back was quiet. Blaine kept his hand on Kurt's thigh for most of it. Kurt kept his mind on the flying distance between New York and Milan for all of it.

At Blaine's parents' driveway, Blaine squeezed Kurt's thigh, making him turn towards him.

"It was the perfect night." Kurt said; if there was a tone of finality to it, he wished Blaine hadn't caught it.

"It was" Blaine agreed, leaning in for a kiss. Kurt kissed back with all he had.

"When do I get to see you again?" Blaine asked into his lips.

Kurt looked away for a moment but forced himself to look into Blaine's incredible, golden eyes when he answered. "I fly back to New York tomorrow at noon."

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><p>Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought?<p> 


	4. The call

There's a reason I don't establish a posting schedule, I suck at this and I would be constantly letting you down. So... I'm sorry this took so long...

Thank you InLoveWithDarren!

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><p><strong>The call<strong>

Being stuck in Ohio was so boring. Most of the people he used to know there already lived somewhere else now. He already saw his brother almost everyday for the rest of the year and his parents were fine, but not exactly fun to be around. Previous years he had taken a holiday trip somewhere else during the summer, but not walking properly and having to do rehabilitation he had had to cancel his week in Hawaii this year. And he couldn't even go for a run to kill some time.

So, maybe he texted Kurt a little too much. He didn't want to be annoying or seem desperate, but Kurt was so funny and sweet and made his day seem remarkable even if he had just laid on the couch and watched TV all day.

Understandably, Kurt was sometimes busy. He was in the last weeks of rehearsal for his new show so, it was okay if he sometimes didn't reply right away, or if he sometimes had to cut it short.

However, as another week went by, Blaine started to suspect something else was going on. He had gotten over his boredom enough to text Kurt a normal amount of times a day, but Kurt's responses had started to gradually show less and less interest. It was around that time that the call happened.

Blaine's cell rang as he was making it back home from the gym.

"Hey, you! How are you?" Blaine answered, excited after he saw Kurt's name on the screen.

"Hi, Blaine. I'm fine. Boring day again? " Kurt answered softly.

"Not really. I'm just getting back from the gym and guess what? I'm allowed to walk by myself again!"

"Really? That's great, wasn't that supposed to be a week from now though?"

"Yeah, but I happen to be great at this rehabilitating thing."

Kurt laughed a little. His laugh sounded sad as it faded out and he went silent.

"Hey, is something wrong? You sound… off." Blaine asked.

More silence.

"Listen, Blaine… I don't want to do this but it would just get worse if I don't. I don't think we should keep doing this. I like you and the night we had was just amazing but we live 4000 miles away from each other and the schedules we have... there's no way this could work. I don't want to hurt you, I don't want us to hurt each other. But maybe the only way for that not to happen is to leave this as just that happy memory."

"No, wait…. This can't end like this, Kurt…"

"I'm sorry, but it's just going to get worse." Kurt interrupted.

It made no sense. "You can't give up like this. I was in those woods the other night too, Kurt. You can't tell me that wasn't something worth trying."

"It's too late for us. I'm sorry, Blaine. I'm really sorry." Kurt pretty much sobbed as he said it, then he ended the call.

Blaine called. It went to voicemail, he talked into it until he ran out of time. He called again but didn't leave a message. Again.

He got a text.

**From: Kurt**

Please don't

Blaine kicked the coffee table in front of him. Only the sharp pain made him realize he had stood completely on his injured foot to do so. He fell to the ground, the pain so strong he was sure he had strained something again. He screamed, not even knowing which one was the reason. Pulling himself to the couch, he got rid of his sneaker to look at his ankle, it was swollen again and hurt when he touched it but maybe, he hoped, he hadn't done much more harm.

But when his foot didn't hurt enough to keep him away from what had just happened, his mind was back to Kurt. He couldn't just take what Kurt had said, they had a true connection and he knew Kurt felt that too. It was going to be hard, with the distance and the interest of the media, but he knew it was worth it, he just had to make Kurt see that too.

What they could have… it wasn't that Kurt had taken his breath away with his sheer beauty ever since he first saw his picture on the Rent playbill and later in all his pale, perfect flesh on that stage. It wasn't the way he had felt when he fell into his strong arms to be faced with the most amazing eyes he had ever seen. It wasn't how he felt he had known him a little through Burt's words for years. Or how he made him laugh. Not his wit. Not even the way he made Blaine feel like he could do anything he settled his mind on. It was because he had never felt as safe, as understood or even as genuinely cared for as that night they had had together. He knew that had been mutual. And he was not letting that go without a fight.

He realized he wouldn't be able to talk Kurt into giving it a try, he had to show him. He needed to fly to New York, get himself a ticket to a sold out opening night and come up with the most romantic plan he could master. Blaine knew losing but he was good at working hard for a win. He wasn't giving up yet.

He took his phone again but, this time, called Cooper.

"Hi, squirt!"

"Hey, Coop. How are you?"

"All good. How's your ankle doing?"

Blaine considered telling him he was walking, but after the recent incident, he'd rather be prudent, Cooper was also his manager after all. "It's doing okay. Listen, bro, I kind of need a favor."

"And here I thought for once you called because you missed me."

"Oh, but I do miss you. So much, big bro." Blaine said dramatically.

"We saw each other yesterday, Blainers. A little less drama and maybe you could have fooled me. Your acting is losing its finesse."

"That's what you say, however I'm told to be excellent at faking fouls."

Cooper laughed. "Listen to Mr. Right all proud of his abilities outside of the law. What has Italy done to you, Blaine Anderson?"

It was Blaine who laughed this time. "Thanks, Coop. I needed that."

"Woah, what's wrong?"

"Can I explain to you what I need and then we can go from there?"

"…Okay. Are you okay, Blaine? Should I come over?"

"I'm fine, or I'm going to be. I need to be in New York next weekend. "

"What about rehabilitation?"

"I can work from there; I'll take whoever they want me to work with."

"Ok, done. New York has better physiologists anyway."

"Well, I need a hotel."

"Done"

"And I need a ticket for the Peter Pan revival, opening night. And a VIP pass."

Cooper laughed softly. "Trouble in Loveland?"

"You could say."

"You know your boy has been sold out for weeks, don't you?" Cooper asked, mischievously.

"I do. I'm not so sure why you have this kind of information, though."

"I know everything, Blaine."

"Stop stalking him, you idiot."

"Don't insult people when you're trying to get them to do something for you, squirt. Anyway, I'm not stalking anyone, I just have contacts, contacts that you need right now. And for the record, if I were you, I'd take an invasive brother who is trying to protect you over invasive media who doesn't care."

"Just get me the ticket, please."

"Done, little bro."

"Thanks, Coop."

"I'll be around with old rom coms and some ice cream in an hour or so, okay?"

"You are the best."

"See, was that so hard?"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "See you, Coop."

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><p>Thanks for reading! I love reviews, just saying...<p> 


	5. The previous hours

I'm sorry for how long this took. Life got in the way.

Also, InLoveWithDarren is awesome.

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><p><strong>The previous hours<strong>

The scenery wasn't new to Kurt. People coming and going between cardboard buildings, ships and cities. That thrilling, nervous feeling in the air. He was about to be back on a stage and it felt like being back home. He was nervous, of course he was, but he was mostly excited to be back.

Being back on the stage was particularly good when he was feeling down about some other aspects of his life. He had been the one to cut Blaine off, but picking a less hurtful option didn't mean it wasn't hurtful at all. He kind of expected Blaine to try a little bit more but he told himself it was selfish to think like that.

He had heard from Blaine, after complete silence for almost a week, the morning before the premiere.

**From: Blaine**

Hi! Ready for your big night?

Kurt had spent ten minutes rereading it before figuring out what to do. Blaine was texting as if nothing had happened. He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to keep in touch in a just friendly way but he had to text him back to see where this was going.

**To: Blaine**

Hey you! Super anxious but I'm ready… I think

It was a few minutes until he got an answer.

**From: Blaine**

Cool, have fun and break a leg, ok?

Kurt typed and retyped an answer a few times.

**To: Blaine**

Thank you.

He finally sent it and immediately thought he should have said more. Like _I miss you_, he thought, but threw his phone on the bed and tried not to think about Blaine for the rest of the day.

Hours later, Kurt sat on a comfortable chair backstage as Sienna, the hairdresser, worked on his hair, getting it to do the Peter thing just right.

"Waiting for someone to call?" She asked, surprising Kurt.

"What? No…" Kurt said as he stopped flicking through his phone. He let it on his lap.

Sienna laughed. "It's ok, I'm not trying to pry, you don't need to tell me. But you're totally waiting on someone." She winked at him in the mirror.

"Ok, I am. But I shouldn't because I was the one to tell him not to." Kurt confessed.

"You regret it?"

"I don't really know," He sighed "It's probably for the best if things stay like this."

"It is really for the best?You clearly miss him."

Kurt didn't answer, that was what he had been asking himself for a whole week.

Peyton, one of the assistants, appeared then.

"Hey, Kurt. Do you have a minute? We got something delivered that I think is for you."

Kurt looked at Sienna for confirmation that he was allowed to move. As she nodded he stood up, "Wait, didn't they give you a name?"

"You'll see."

As they walked down the hallway, Peyton began to explain, "I checked the names of the whole ensemble and there isn't any Peter, so…"

They reached a corner and Kurt found himself in front of the biggest bouquet of roses he had ever seen. It took over half of the wall with its perfect red and yellow roses. In the middle a normal sized card that perspective made to look tiny read _Peter_.

"Finally!" A woman sighed behind Kurt.

He turned to find Santana. "Can you please make it quick so I can get someone to get rid of the monstrosity? It's hurting my eyes already."

"Santana!"

"At least I'll be having some fun looking for this stalker of yours, you're so boring sometimes, Hummel." She continued as if she hadn't been interrupted.

"Why did I ever think letting you be my manager would be a good idea?"

Santana smirked. "I made you, Twinkle toes."

"Yeah, yeah" Kurt mocked as he grabbed his card.

He was pretty sure he knew who the sender was but he needed to prove before getting his hopes all the way up.

_I hope your night is everything you wanted it to be._

_Break a leg, beautiful!_

_-B_

Kurt couldn't help it, he hugged the card to his chest. He took two roses from the bouquet, one red, one yellow.

"A minute." He heard Santana say with authority to the two girls.

"Anything you want to share with the classroom, Hummel?" She asked as she walked closer to him.

"Santana…"

"Because aside from being your manager I thought I was enough of your friend to not have to learn what's going on with you from Cooper Stupid Perfect Face Anderson." She sounded more hurt than angry, that was huge with Santana. She started to walk away.

"I'm sorry! Okay?" He almost shouted, "I was being stupid and I couldn't handle you guys telling me so."

Santana was looking back at him with not visible intention of speaking any further.

"I can't look at Rachel in the eye and tell her I found someone who was… perfect for me and I let him go. But I couldn't do it either, keep this going with him, I mean…"

"And that's because you realized he looks like a circus dwarf or do you happen to have an actual reason?" Santana quickly asked.

"He lives in a different continent, for God's sake!"

"Maybe he isn't done with elementary school yet because he doesn't seem to have gotten that memo." She reasoned, gesturing towards the flowers.

"I don't know either, he hadn't spoken to me in a week, I don't know what this means…"

"He calls you beautiful, Smarty Pants." She said, gesturing as if she was going to puke.

"Hey! That was private!" He pressed the card closer to him.

"I had to make sure it wasn't anthrax."

Kurt rolled his eyes."Don't do that."

"Whatever. Just let me know when you figure this out because I'll like to give Britt enough time to thank me properly if I'm taking her on a trip to Italy, if you know what I mean…"

"As if I would take you." He fought back.

"Keep dreaming. Also, you're telling Berry, she knows something is up with you."

"I know." He sighed.

"You're a lot of things, Kurt, but coward isn't one of them." She said before leaving.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading!


	6. The first knock on the door

Thanks RainySunnyEnding for stepping in to beta in InLoveWithDarren's school-induced absence and even teaching me stuff while you're at it. You rock, girl!

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><p><strong>The first knock on the door<strong>

Blaine knew being recognized was a possibility. Because of that, he made it to the theatre when the lights were already off to avoid the attention.

He was nervous. A bit on Kurt's behalf, but mostly because he had put all his remaining energy into the belief that he could get Kurt back (or just get Kurt, as they hadn't actually been a thing really). He didn't have a backup plan, so he really hoped he had figured Kurt out well enough.

Anyway, the moment Peter flew to the stage, he was lost in an amazing performance. The strength of Kurt's presence, how he pulled the audience's eyes to him, it was mesmerizing. He had this light which Blaine couldn't not follow, consequences be damned.

Blaine knew he wasn't in a place to feel that (only _yet_, he hoped) but he felt such pride in what Kurt generated.

It was such a good show, a new refreshing take on the story. Maybe a bit melancholic but that made it more relatable for adults. He was sure it was going to be a hit. It was over way too quickly, though.

His hands where sore because of the energy he had put into his standing ovation when he took the courage to walk backstage. The guy he showed his VIP pass to opened his eyes like plates when he was faced with Blaine but he didn't ask, so Blaine politely thanked him and walked away.

A dancer passed by and he asked her for directions to Kurt's dressing room. Once there he stopped to take a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"That's enough, Rach…" Kurt was saying as he opened it, not turning to see who was at the door.

Then he turned and his mouth fell open as he froze. Blaine stood still too and the moment felt eternal as he waited for Kurt to react.

And then Kurt did something that Blaine wasn't expecting but told him all he needed to know. He smiled fully and freely as he threw himself at Blaine, embracing him between his arms with such a force that he almost tackled him. Blaine felt as he had just found his favorite place in the world as he hugged Kurt by the waist and hid his face in the crook of Kurt's neck.

Kurt hugged with all he was worth and when he went to separate himself from Blaine, the other man clung to him even more. "A few more seconds," Blaine whispered and Kurt brought a hand to the back of his neck and pulled him impossibly closer.

Blaine eventually pulled out of the embrace. Kurt's eyes were watery and he had a look Blaine couldn't decipher.

"I'm so sorry," He started.

Blaine had a speech planned but it felt unnecessary the moment Kurt started talking. For all response, he caressed Kurt's hipbone encouragingly. It didn't feel like it was his moment to speak.

Kurt pressed his forehead to Blaine's and couldn't look him in the eye when he said, "You scare me so much, Blaine Anderson."

Kurt projected himself as such a confident, strong man that it was shocking to see this side of him. With his history of losing people he cared for, it also made complete sense. Blaine had never felt such an intense will to make things right for someone before.

This was suddenly a way more intense, real thing that what Blaine had had in mind but after the nature of their first date, it was fitting.

"Please, let me try and change that," Blaine pleaded.

"I don't think I can do otherwise." The way Kurt was looking at him, a sad expression on his features but a shine in his eyes. Blaine needed to know everything behind what made Kurt look at him like that.

A chance was all Blaine needed. And he hadn't even had to deliver his thoughtful speech to be given one.

"Well, that's better…" A voice he knew said from behind Kurt as he was leaning in to finally kiss him again.

"Burt," Blaine muttered.

"Dad! Couldn't you give us a minute?" Kurt complained.

"Sorry kid, but those two are about to kill each other and you should be getting ready to go to the door by now anyway," Burt explained, way too calm for what he had almost walked in to.

"Okay…" Kurt sighed, looking Blaine in the eye. Kurt didn't say more but Blaine saw the question in his eyes: _Are we okay?_

Blaine leaned in and chastely pecked his lips as a silence response. He was amazed at how… easy it had been, as if all Kurt had needed was for Blaine to knock on his door. Maybe, unconsciously, what Kurt needed was the reassurance that he wasn't crazy to believe this was worth a shot. Or at least that Blaine was in on the crazy.

"Oh my God, Berry, I think he's actually shorter than you," Santana sneered as she crossed the door behind Burt.

As soon as Rachel was out of the door, she and Santana were back bickering. Carole was the last one out, closing the door behind her and calling the girls into a truce. Kurt reached his hand to Blaine's as they all started to walk out.

"So, how's your ankle doing?" Burt asked him as they walked. Out of the corner of his eye, Blaine saw Kurt rolling his eyes. The whole scene was perfect, Blaine realized, Burt had taken his presence so naturally, as if it was just the way things were supposed to be.

"Quite well, actually. They say I'll probably be allowed to start training in two or three weeks," he answered.

They were reaching the last hallway to the door Kurt was expected to come out from when Santana spoke. "And if anyone here doubted that the two of you can't be left alone without a babysitter," she directed that part at Rachel, turning then to Kurt. "Are you really going to walk out of here holding hands like two toddlers? It's going to be all over the internet faster that it would take for Berry to break into a show tune. _Are you even actually together?_"

"Yes we are," Kurt looked at Blaine for confirmation," and I wasn't going to…"

Santana's gaze was terrifying.

Kurt purposely kept himself from looking back at Santana. He sighed. "We should probably…"

"Yeah, I'll stay behind with the rest. We should take our time to discuss how we're doing this anyway."

"Yeah, okay," Kurt breathed out. "Let's, let's get out."

Blaine definitely wasn't new to fanaticism, but seeing Kurt work through his crowd, all tall and proud and engaging was a whole new experience. Like in the stage, he pulled people's attention, but at the same time, his honest enthusiasm about the person in front of him sort of brought that energy back to them. It was clear to Blaine that his fans left their encounters feeling empowered and inspired. It was a beautiful thing to witness and it reminded Blaine of how many great things about Kurt he had yet to learn.

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><p>They are together! :D Let's see how much it lasts... (Oh my God, I'm horrible!)<p>

Thanks for reading! Reviews make me happier than cookies, just saying...


	7. The night off

Thank you RainySunnyEnding for the betaing!

Chris wrote Kurt playing Peter Pan and Santana as Rachel's publicist (close enough to agent). Does that mean he is actually my extremely more talented twin for another mother who just happens to have been born ten thousand miles and six months away from me? I have to get out of Tumblr...

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><p><strong>The night off<strong>

Kurt walked into his apartment to the amazing smell of pancakes being cooked. He followed said smell to his kitchen, where Blaine stood behind the stove still wearing his running clothes. If this wasn't the best thing to come back from the gym to, Kurt didn't know what was.

"Mm, you spoil me so much. Don't stop," he said into Blaine's ear as he wrapped his arms around him.

"It's my pleasure," Blaine said as he turned his head to kiss Kurt's lips.

It had been almost a week of living in this fantasy. Blaine had been staying at Kurt's pretty much every night since the day of the premiere. He kept the room at the hotel, though, only to delude themselves into believing he hadn't moved in completely. It seemed a little too soon.

Blaine had been going to see Kurt perform every night, staying backstage and usually leaving with Santana. They hadn't spoken about their relationship publicly yet but they didn't want to hide completely. They even went out for dinner together as long as it was a place that provided some privacy; they knew the rumors would have to start at some point. They just had to be careful enough not to create a monster they couldn't control.

But it was a Monday, Kurt's night off.

"So…" Kurt started, "the girls and I have this thing that started back when Rachel was on _Funny Girl _where we have a once a week dinner on Mondays because it was destined to be our only night off."

"Of course" Blaine added matter-of-factly.

It made Kurt smile, Blaine was the cutest dork. "I think it would be a normal couple thing to do, right? We can't just hole up in my apartment forever; we will never survive distance like that."

"Gosh, Kurt, do you really need to be so dramatic?" Blaine mocked as he led him to sit at the table.

Kurt laughed, "Ok, maybe that was too much. But really, we're almost living together, this is insane. Let's try normal for a while because I've no idea how we're expecting to cope with being a whole continent away in a few weeks. We have to slow down."

"Okay, you have a point. Though, I do think that insane is kind of our thing by now," Blaine said as he leaned closer for a kiss.

"I'll tell Rachel," Kurt said as he disentangled himself from Blaine's grip and went to the living room. He took a Burberry umbrella from near the door and knocked on the roof six times to the rhythm of "Ding Dong! The Witch is dead!"

"What are you…?" Blaine stood at the kitchen's door, a confused look on his face.

"Oh, I didn't tell you where Rachel lives, did I?"

"You're kidding me! The three of you?"

As Blaine already knew after nights of sharing a car with her back from Kurt's shows, Santana's apartment was in the same building as Kurt's. What he hadn't learned, until now, was that Rachel lived in the building too.

"Well, four technically, Brittany lives with Santana. Come here, she isn't exactly patient." Kurt took Blaine by the hand and led him into his room. He opened the window and they both stuck their heads out and looked up.

At the window of the apartment a floor above Kurt's, Rachel was holding a small blackboard perpendicularly to the wall so that the boys could read from underneath.

_You know not to do this when I'm saving my voice for an audition, Kurt._

"We just wanted to confirm our attendance for dinner tonight," Kurt shouted.

Rachel took the blackboard back and wrote on it furiously.

_Thank God, I can't do Monday Night's Dinner alone with Santana._

"I'm aware." He laughed. "See you later, sweetie. You'd better be speaking by then."

Rachel looked down, staring intensively for a moment before disappearing into her apartment.

Blaine seemed to be equal parts amused and confused. "So… all of you in the same building…"

"Yeah, we all used to live together when we came to New York. When _Rent_ kicked off I decided to get my own place and Santana wanted to move in with Britt. But Rachel isn't good at being alone, and Santana…. Well, she's our agent and you've seen how controlling she can be, so, this was the best option we came up with. I used to hate the idea, but I actually have grown to love it."

"You guys are a bit like a foster family for each other, aren't you? " Blaine asked with a soft smile.

"Yeah, we kind of are, I guess. We're messed up and we have had the worst fights, but at the end of the day we will kill for each other. "Kurt said thoughtful.

"Wait, does this mean I have to be nervous about tonight?"

Kurt smirked, "Don't worry, sweetheart. You have been coming back home with Santana all week and have lived to tell the tale, she must _really_ like you." He made a face.

"Well, I won't say it wasn't quite an experience…" Blaine trailed off as Kurt pulled him by the hand.

Later that night they took the stairs to the floor just above. Blaine was looking very proud of himself for finally having full mobility and not needing the elevator.

"Hi, Blaine. Come in!" was what Rachel opened her door with.

Kurt stood impassive at the door, presenting the pie he had brought as an offering.

"Apple pie?" she asked, keeping her attention on the plate and not the man holding it.

"Yes, my lady," Kurt mocked.

"You may come in. I'm still mad at you, though," she said as she walked inside.

Kurt knew it was just a show. The day after opening night he had managed to sit with her and tell her their story. Even when a little hurt he hadn't gone to her before, Rachel was really happy for him and what he had found in Blaine.

Always the charmer, Blaine had Santana talking to him about Brittany's work as a choreographer and what obligations had kept her from being there for the night. He was a keeper if he could get Santana into that easy mood.

It was nice to see Blaine fitting in. With Mercedes and Sam in LA and Artie's job that had him traveling so often, Monday Night's Dinner had gone to become a thing of just the four of them, three when Britt was working the night. The addition was clearly welcomed.

Blaine was truly fascinated with their stories. Kurt knew they weren't exactly a group of nine-to-five office workers, but Blaine wasn't either. And still he spent dinner listening to their crazy stories back at their apartment at Bushwick.

"How did you end up asking Santana to be your agent after that, anyway?" Blaine asked Rachel, clearly enjoying his place on Kurt's chest as they lay on Rachel's couch.

"Oh, no one asked her, honey," Kurt answered as he played with Blaine's hair between his fingers.

"Let me tell you how it really was, shiny dwarf," Santana jumped in, "It was the third time I saved her sorry ass from someone on the phone she couldn't get rid off, so this time, when they asked who they were talking to; I said it was her agent. Can you imagine this one dealing with producers and god forbidden gossip journalists? They would have eaten her alive. I started to take the calls for her and realized that if I was already doing the dirty job I should at least get my part of the cake."

"With all you heard tonight, you wouldn't expect that to have happened without a whole lot of drama," Kurt added.

"Eventually I decided that a psycho I already knew and whose weak point I could call in for a favor was better than a psycho I had yet to meet and we reached an agreement," Rachel added.

"And what about you then?" Blaine poked Kurt.

_Kurt was looking into the refrigerator, telling Santana what they needed to get from the grocery store. She was being nice enough to at least act as if she was listening when her phone vibrated on the kitchen table and all pretending was gone._

_"Hello." She answered; her voice dry. "Speaking. ... No, she's flying to LA to guest star on a show tomorrow. The agreement was for her to go in for chemistry reads today; she can't be expected to have an empty agenda. ... I'm not the one not doing my job right here." She listened for a few seconds, then added, "Wait, I thought you had a Joanne. ... The boring white guy? How could you not find a Mark?" By this point Santana was pacing around the room like a mad woman. _

_She went to sit on the chair right in front of the couch where Kurt had relocated to to flip through the latest Vogue as he enjoyed the spectacle. "Say that again… Yes, the character description." Her face had transformed as she took Kurt's hand and pulled him to his bedroom without further explanation._

"_Santana, what…" He tried to complain._

"_Shut up, you can thank me later." She muttered, sitting him in his own bed and rummaging through his rack of clothes. She went to his dresser, took a comb and threw it at him. "Flatten that thing on your head into a boring straight guy style." She said covering the speaker. Her gaze was so intense that Kurt couldn't do more than obey._

"_Okay, listen. I have the perfect guy for you. He and Rachel will be there in two hours." She ended the call._

"_Lady Hummel, say hello to your new agent, I'm going to make you a star." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you happen to know where Berry keeps her scripts?"_

"So that was it?" Blaine interrupted, amazed. "You prepared the audition in two hours and got the part?"

"Well, it's not like I wasn't familiar with the play," Kurt said a bit embarrassed by Blaine's reaction.

"I knew you were amazing, but damn, man!"

Kurt just_ had_ to kiss him after that.

A cell phone rang, interrupting then.

"Gracias, Dios!" Santana praised as she looked for her phone. She didn't look happy with the name on the screen.

"I thought you were better than calling me on a Monday night, Lindsay." She answered.

Kurt looked over at Rachel, eyes wide opened. Lindsay was Santana's assistant and she had kept her job for over a year due to great efficiency. She wouldn't call without a very good reason and a good reason meant either really good or really bad news.

"Well, that's interesting; I'll let you keep your head."

"Okay, that's enough, have her people call me in thirty minutes, "Santana finished.

She turned to Kurt and Blaine. "So… Was the lamb any good? I've heard their whole staff is made of pretentious little shits but the lamb is worth putting up with it. Is that true?"

The men looked at each other in confusion.

"You were seen last night my little darlings. There's pictures and everything." Her sarcasm could be heard from the moon.

"Shit." Blaine mumbled.

"We agreed it was okay, we aren't going to hide like that." Kurt said defensively.

"We said low key, Hummel. You went to the place of the hour." Santana argued. "Anyway, I don't care. You two have fifteen minutes to tell me how you want to go about this and I may listen." She turned to Blaine. "I want your brother on the phone for the other fifteen and he better be as good as he claims to be because everyone with a voice at Entertainment Weekly hates me as much as I hate Rachel's vegan lasagna."

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p>

Review, maybe? I like hearing your thoughts...


	8. The first of many

Hey there! I feel like it would be appropriate to talk about the World Cup in here but I'm probably the only one who cares...

In unrelated news, InLoveWithDarren is back! :D

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><p><strong>The first of many<strong>

They had contained the madness, which did not mean there hadn't been any collateral damage. The pictures were blurry and from a bad angle and there was no doubt it was Kurt, but Blaine was almost not visible. As Kurt usually got little media attention the story had been told vaguely, as nothing more than a suspicion and official statements hadn't been made. They were a rumor. As for the collateral damage, Cooper had decided that Blaine shouldn't be left alone any longer and had flown to New York immediately.

With all that another week had gone by and Blaine had barely realized. That was until his personal trainer told him he was ready to start training again. Cooper was static, Bluetooth soon in his ear, sharing the news with the team back in Milan. Blaine was not looking forward to telling Kurt the news when he got back from the theatre. He knew he didn't have much time, though. His injury had been quite a public matter and it would be impossible to keep the news of when he was getting back to Milan a secret for long.

That night he waited for Kurt at the other man's apartment, as had become their routine. There was something a bit strange about the normality with which they already shared each other spaces; it wouldn't seem like a two-week-long relationship to any outsider. Every time someone else commented on this Blaine feared they were going too fast. However when he stopped to think about it by himself it just made sense. Yes, it seemed fast, but it was just the rhythm they were both comfortable in. It was a crazy thing, what they had, but nothing had seemed so right before.

Regardless of how good being together was they still had to face the real nature of their relationship. They had been living in their own little fantasy, practically sharing a home for the last two weeks. But they needed to learn now to be a long distance couple. Blaine was scared, of course, but he had so much faith in the two of them. He hoped Kurt had it too.

Blaine cooked the best fettuccini he was capable of that night. He prepared a tiramisu and bought the best Italian wine he could find. Kurt had given them a fantastic first date and he wanted an opportunity to woo Kurt too. He hadn't had much of an opportunity for that yet.

When he heard Kurt at the door, Blaine hurried to hold the door open for him. Kurt's mouth fell open in surprise as he took in the room. His dining room was illuminated only by the dim lights of various candles and the lights of the city coming through the windows. Blaine couldn't help but notice how beautiful Kurt's pale skin looked, shining under the lights. The table was set with his best china and decorated tastefully.

He turned to Blaine with a gleeful smile and crinkly eyes. He raised a hand to smooth Blaine's bow tie; it was such a domestic, unexpected gesture that Blaine had trouble breathing for a stark moment. "What did I do to receive such a welcome?"

Blaine put an arm around Kurt's waist. "Well, being your gorgeous amazing self. That's a big one."

Kurt rolled his eyes but hugged Blaine closer anyway.

"Though… I do have some news to share." Blaine added, he couldn't help but lower his eyes as he spoke, the idea of burying his face into Kurt's chest and staying there till he was old and grey could have crossed his mind for a second.

"Am I going to hate it?" Kurt asked and Blaine looked up to meet his gaze.

"Maybe. It's not exactly unexpected," he explained.

"Okay, spill. When are you leaving?"

"I'm expected to be at training on Monday," Blaine finally said.

Kurt sighed dramatically. "Then I have only three more days with you."

"I'm not dying, Kurt," he said a bit exasperated. They needed to slow down with the drama if they wanted to make it.

"Okay, okay." Kurt seemed to understand as he pressed his forehead to Blaine's. "This will just be our new normal."

"And we're going to make it work."

"We are." Kurt kissed him passionately.

They pulled away to breathe. "So, what did you cook for me?"

Their three days went by quickly, with Kurt unaware of the way Blaine clung to every second they contained. Blaine was flying on Sunday, so on Friday they had a late dinner with Cooper and the girls.

Blaine's profession made a mercenary of him, he had always thought, having to live at the city of the team that paid the best price for him. He had some good friends and his brother was always by his side but he rarely felt like he truly belonged somewhere. He sat on Kurt's couch, Kurt's hand inadvertently on his leg; Santana was at the board in front of them trying to get Rachel and Brittany to guess her drawing; Cooper came in from the kitchen pretty much juggling with three bowls of popcorn. For a moment there, it felt like he had found his home.

On Saturday they didn't leave Kurt's place all day except for Kurt's show. He had toyed with the idea of letting his understudy take over for the night but had decided against it as the show was way too new for him to take such liberties. Blaine joined him backstage instead.

On Sunday morning, they said goodbye at Kurt's place before Blaine had to leave to the airport. Kurt lay on his side, softly caressing Blaine's arm. He was looking up at him, his eyes gray that day; Blaine wondered if that was the color they turned when overcome with sadness. Blaine's chest felt heavy, but his feelings were a little too intense to voice aloud just yet; a little too much to add to the situation. It was something they'd have to learn, saying goodbye. This was the first of many.

Kurt kissed him goodbye at his apartment's door when Cooper rang saying he was outside the building. "Call me when you land, okay?"

"Yes and maybe we can Skype before I go to bed and you leave for the theatre?" Blaine asked, hopeful. God, he was such a mess already.

"Let's do that." Kurt hugged him again. "You're vibrating," he murmured into the embrace after a couple of minutes.

Blaine took his phone out. "It's Cooper again, I probably should go," he said but didn't move at all. He didn't answer the phone either.

Kurt sighed. "We have to get used to this. One more kiss and you're off," he said seriously.

Blaine actually laughed at that, more like snorted probably. He did leave after that kiss.

They got crowded by paparazzi as soon as they entered the airport. Coop was good at keeping them on edge, though. Blaine liked to say that he had never thought his brother's attractiveness would serve him as much as it did. But between his always present confidence, his looks and the fact that he could work a camera, Cooper was the media's favorite sports agent and they both had learned to use that on their behalf.

Blaine thought he was going in to a melancholic trip. However, an hour and one particularly cute six-year-old fan later, he was doing fine. Sure, the distance was going to be hard to get used to, but he was leaving America with so much more than what he had arrived with.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading!

P.s.: I'm genuinely interested in whether or not the World Cup is a big thing where you are (it's ginormous here) and which is your team if anyone wants to share...


	9. The new routine

I'll like to be able to promise things (like schedules, you know) but life's weird.

Thank you InLoveWithDarren, you sweet girl, for rebetaing this thing that we managed to lose in one of its transatlantic voyages...

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><p><strong>The new routine<strong>

Time difference was the worst convention humankind could have ever fabricated. He hadn't expected those six hours to be what made things the hardest. But Blaine envisioned dinner dates over Skype and falling asleep to the soft sound of Kurt's dreaming. What he got, instead, was having late lunch to Kurt's sleepy eyes while he hid behind his coffee, a few texts in between practice and rushing home to catch Kurt on Skype before he left to the show. He looked forward to the weekends as a person who hates their job does and loved Mondays, when Kurt was off, as a workaholic. One thing for sure was that he seemed to have the closest relationship a man had ever developed with his phone. His friends on the team had started to notice.

"Are you going to tell us who it is that you talk to all the time?" Marcello asked in his accentuated Italian as they were leaving the club.

"Yeah, someone has definitely gotten himself a new sex toy," Mauro added.

"Hey! Don't call him that." Blaine said.

"Aw, he's going to defend his honor." Mauro teased.

Blaine rolled his eyes.

"Oh, it's serious, that's new..." Marcello said.

"So, is he coming on Sunday?" Mauro asked.

"He's in the US."

"Ouch, that sucks, man," Mauro said, "but if things work out, he's coming, right?"

Blaine knew what he meant. All of the guys who had a significant other, or a family even, had them moving around with them. He was sure heteronormativity played a part in that. He had learned to make people respect him at work, so he often forgot it was still an environment that radiated machismo. Regardless, he hadn't given much thought to how the press and the general public were going to view their relationship. They were going for a long-term long-distance situation; that'd probably not be easily understood.

"_So… we're doing this…" Kurt said into Blaine's hair as they lay on the couch after dinner. It was the night Blaine had told him he was ready to go back to Milan._

"_Yeah, we're becoming masters in long distance, I guess."_

"_How…" Kurt hesitated, "how long does a soccer player's career last?"_

_Blaine couldn't help but snort. "I could play until I'm thirty five, more or less." He turned to look at Kurt in the eye. He could see 'that's a decade' written with fear in Kurt's face. "I don't think I'll play until then, though, I'd rather leave when my career is starting to decline. Maybe come back when they won't take me in the prime teams in Europe and play a couple extra years for The Crew or Galaxy if fans want that. You don't have any secret plan of learning Italian and trying your luck there, do you?"_

"_Not really."_

_Blaine sighed. "We'll figure it out…"_

"Thank you for doing this with me, Artie. I really appreciate it," Kurt said as he brought the bowl of popcorn to the coffee table.

"It's all right, man. We're not about to wax all the hair on our bodies or anything, I'd have watched anyway." Artie answered from where he was already settled in front of the TV, listening to the commentary prior to the match.

"I plan on never confessing it to my dad or Blaine but I could really use some guidance."

"I appreciate the intention. My relationships will probably last longer if I went back to dating girls who can sit through the plastic bag scene from American Beauty, "Artie looked away as if remembering something.

"You just got my point there, Blaine said it was ok if I don't like soccer, but this is a big part of who he is and that's enough reason to care. I don't intend to pretend but I have to give it a try for him." Kurt explained, "When he came to see me on Peter, Blaine always had a comment to make. And of course, it was easier because he has a background in theatre but it's so nice that he would notice that we played around with the pace of that scene or how the voice work was paying off in that note that was more of stretch on firsts runs. I want to be able to give that back..."

"Not trying to stop your sappy fest or anything, but they're coming out." Artie interrupted.

Questions didn't take long to arise.

"Wait, wait. Why is he sitting on the bench? He said he was playing." Kurt asked confused as the camera stayed on Blaine sitting down. The audience seemed to cheer particularly loud for him.

"I don't think he's going to play for the whole ninety minutes just coming from an injury." Artie said.

"But they could take him out later. Why isn't he at the start?"

"He'll probably enter for the second half. Sooner or later depending on how the match is going."

"How is that?" Kurt asked.

"Well, if they're winning comfortably, coach will probably put him for the last twenty minutes just for the applause. But if they're losing and he has to use him he could even enter on the first half."

Kurt considered that for the moment as the referee signaled the start. "So… he is sort of the guy they'll call in to save the day?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

It took a moment for Kurt to recognize the feeling that was invading him. It was pride. It was one thing to know Blaine was good at what he did, but it was another to see him being so appreciated.

By half time Kurt was exhausted, but he would have claimed to be a pro when it came to soccer. He couldn't wait to watch a game with his dad. Contrary to what he had thought, he didn't hate it either.

The match was tied without goals.

"He's going in, Kurt! He's going in!" Artie called excited as Kurt ran back from the bathroom.

The warmth Kurt was feeling had little to do with the sun coming through the window. He realized that, even when it was the most common of Blaine's looks for most people, in his mind, he sort of disassociated his Blaine from soccer player Blaine. It would probably be good for keeping himself sane when they went public.

It was a bit frustrating, when watching from a place of caring. Maybe it was an effect of all the sweating involved, but when it felt as if on his TV getting that ball into the net was so important, it was easy to get swollen up by the enthusiasm. There were only ten minutes left, the match was still tied and Kurt was as agitated and anxious as an actual fanatic.

Blaine had the ball; he passed the first guy on defense, and then turned. He almost didn't lift his head up as he made a perfect pass to his right, directly to Marcello's feet, as he was immediately sprinting forward. Marcello passed it back as Blaine made it to the goal area, the last man on the defense barely had a chance and it was man to man between Blaine and the goalkeeper. The stadium erupted as the commentator shouted 'goooaaall' enthusiastically and Blaine ran across the field, his arms up, encouraging the cheering of the audience.

Only then did Kurt realize that he was standing up. He couldn't exactly explain what had possessed him to do so but it seemed as if he was becoming quite a fan of soccer in the two hour duration of one single match. In the back of his mind, he feared an identity crisis for a few seconds. He got over it as the camera zoomed on Blaine as he went back to his place on the field.

When the whistle signaled the end, 1-0 for Inter, Kurt cheered, considering himself completely converted.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p>

Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe! Wait... wrong website, nevermind...


	10. The visit

Thanks InLovewithDarren for the beta work!

Today I wrote 400 words of a part of this story that is quite far away because it was raining here and I always pictured that scene to have some running under the rain. What I'm trying to say is that this chapter is only cute because it was already written but beware for the future, my emotions have been messy lately and they could end up in here.

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><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

**The visit**

They were on their way to the airport and Kurt felt he was doing a fine job of not freaking out yet.

"I'm only going to ask this as your friend once, so think before you answer me. You really don't need me to come over?" Santana asked, "Because I'm going to give it to him, Cooper is good, but this is a whole new level, Kurt. Blaine's fame is worldwide and the trip there is only one way. I just want you to know the world you're entering because I can't take you out of there later if you don't like it."

"Shit, Santana. When did you become so intense?" He sighed. _Maybe not that much of a good job. _"Sorry, I do appreciate the intention. I guess I'm not as calm as I'd like to think. The decision is taken, the timing is good and it will just get worse if we keep hiding. If you tag along it's just going to make this look like a bigger thing that we want it to be and I trust Cooper. It's going to be okay."

"Okay, okay. I'll respect that, my little WAG," she made a face as if she was considering it and added, "Maybe HAB? I'll let the media make that decision…"

Kurt was confused. "What's going on?"

"You're so not ready for this, Hummel. WAGs are Wives And Girlfriends of soccer players, well, football I guess because the term is British. HABs are Wimbledon female players' Hubbies And Boyfriends." Santana explained, all said in one breath. "You're kind of a whole new term, congrats!"

"You're kidding me, right?" Kurt asked incredulous.

"Not even a little, to my disdain. Welcome to your new world, my friend! But, hey!" she added, "You get to go to Milan's Fashion Week… which is a total WAG thing to do now that I think about it, but anyway…"

"There are so many things that are wrong with that sentence."

"I do know that, but that's the shit you gotta get used to, babe. This isn't Broadway anymore. Don't act as if you don't know it, you saw your dad and Blaine`s campaign." Santana said.

"I know, I do. No need for you to get on board, though." Kurt said.

"I'm better than that and you know it. Just reminding you that most people aren't my level of awesome, my precious snowflake."

Kurt rolled his eyes and took the chance to get out of the car and avoid answering.

"Be good and don't do anything stupid, ok?" Said Santana as he hugged her goodbye.

"Yes, mom."

"What do we ask ourselves to know how bad an idea is?" She asked in the tone she would use on a seven year old.

"Is Santana going to shout if she learns about this?" Kurt answered. _If we followed that we'd never do anything_, he added in his head.

"Wrong, Hummel. When, not if. Auntie Tana always knows." She smirked. "Stay hydrated, if you know what I mean."

"Santana!"

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><p>He knew not many people agreed, but Kurt loved flying. With a good book in his hands he didn't mind being confined and as long as there wasn't turbulence he liked the idea of being up in the sky. Mostly he associated planes with escapism and it was through it that he had kept himself sane when growing up in Ohio.<p>

He liked airports too, but that was when he had time to do some shopping and not when he was running across Rome's Fiumicino Airport to make his connection in time.

When he finally made it to Milan, Cooper was already waiting for him.

"Welcome to Italy, man!" He greeted Kurt with a warm hug. "Let's take you to my little brother."

Kurt was sure Milan was beautiful but he had trouble focusing on it once in the car. He was dying to see Blaine. It had only been a month and a half, he knew they would have worse, but it felt like it had been ages.

Cooper drove his Lamborghini into the parking area of an historical looking building in the center of the city. It turned out to be Blaine's apartment building.

The door to the only apartment on the second floor opened before he reached it. Kurt's boyfriend looked gorgeous in a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt, barefoot and with his curls free. Kurt was actually surprised he didn't make Blaine lose his balance given the force with which he threw himself into his embrace. The warmth of Blaine's body, his scent, the firm grasp of his arms around Kurt: it felt like coming home.

"Gosh, I missed you." Blaine mumbled into his skin before moving to kiss him.

Every nerve in Kurt's body felt that kiss. It was as if every cell in his body had received a tiny electric shock. From his fingertips, buried in Blaine's curls, to his feet that carried him around a house he had never been to as if they knew their way instinctively, Kurt's whole body seemed to be where it belonged.

Blaine had already lost his t-shirt when they reached the bedroom and Kurt didn't even know if he had taken it off or it had been Blaine himself. But then his hands found more of that beautiful olive skin and why would he even care.

Blaine threw himself on the bed, tugging Kurt along and on top of him. Kurt stopped for a moment to look him in the eye; those golden eyes that seemed to shine out of sheer love.

"I love you," Kurt said and he had known that for long but it was the first time he said it aloud.

"I love you, too," Blaine answered as the surprise in his eyes was quickly replaced with lust, "so fucking much."

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><p>"Good morning, sunshine." Kurt said in between kisses to Blaine's lips, then jaw, then neck.<p>

"Mm… Morning" Blaine mumbled, stretching as Kurt positioned himself over Blaine and kept kissing down to his chest.

Blaine hugged him closer and kissed him long and lazy before saying, "let's stay in bed all day."

"Nope," said Kurt pulling himself up and smirking. "Don't pout, I wanna see Milan."

"Milan isn't going anywhere."

"And I'm here for the whole week. Come on, get up! Breakfast is ready," Kurt said as he stood up and went to the door followed by the sound of Blaine's grumble.

"Mm... I love your cooking." Blaine pretty much moaned into his food.

"And I love your kitchen. This place is gorgeous, Blaine."

"Aw, thanks, babe. I tried."

"You had something to do with it?" Kurt mocked.

"Yes, why would you suggest otherwise?" Blaine raised his eyebrows. "Actually, when a team buys you…"

"That sounds awful," Kurt interrupted.

Blaine laughed. "Yeah, it kind of does. Anyway, when you're asked to move to a different continent just a couple of months prior, the club won't expect you to have time to go house hunting. So, Inter finds us a nice penthouse outside the city, near your fellow teammates and all that. Coop still lives in mine. But I fell in love with the historical part of the city and wanted to live in the heart of it. I found this place and it needed some remodeling so it took some time, but I kind of love how it ended up. Have you seen all the rooms?"

Kurt kissed him sweetly. "You're very cute when you ramble." Another kiss.

"Come on, I'll show you the library."

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><p>An: Thanks for reading!

If you're curious, I took inspiration for Blaine's apartment from this (just remove spaces): www . luxuryestate p10139854-apartment - for-sale - milan


	11. The process of going public

Not making excuses. This isn't dead, though.

Betaed by the lovely InLoveWithDarren.

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><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

**The process of going public**

Kurt was enchanted by Milan almost immediately. Sure, maybe Paris was more his vibe but Milan had this old and new, traditional but edgy, thing going on that Kurt found easy to fall in love with. Coincidentally, it suited Blaine just beautifully. Blaine was particularly talented at responding to people's warmth and at dealing with their passionate ways when he was approached in the streets.

Kurt was there to get the cat out of the bag, so he was not going to hide. His first full day in Milan, Blaine didn't have practice, so he took it upon himself to take Kurt to see the city; however they avoided the main touristic places, which Kurt visited the following days while Blaine was gone.

On his first day out alone, more than seeing the main touristic point, the cathedral (which he did visit later to admire the architecture), Kurt took his time in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan's most spectacular commercial gallery. The second day was all about parks and gardens, together with Blaine's most enthusiastic gastronomic recommendations. On the third day, he allowed Cooper to take him on his own version of a guided tour. To his surprise, he got treated to the best ice cream he had ever tried, a show of contemporary dance at a gorgeous nineteenth century theatre and, after picking Blaine up at the club, a nice Mediterranean dinner followed by drinks and a game of pool at Cooper's place.

It was only on the next day, during which he planned to hit as many museums and art galleries as his feet could take, that he saw their mistake. He had managed to go unnoticed until then, even when he had been out with Blaine, but they had been careful where they went. Not so much with Cooper, who the three of them seemed to have forgotten, was also a quite known face. The Italian media had finally figured out who he was and (most important for them) who he was expending his stay in Milan with.

Kurt thought he was being paranoid when he felt a presence as he reached the first museum. He was waiting to get in when he saw the paparazzi. Kurt was used to getting his picture taken we he attended certain kind of events or even a couple of times when going out with Rachel, but having someone approaching him to take his picture as he went through his day just seemed weird and uncomfortable.

The guy took a few pictures from across the street as Kurt tried not to gain the attention of the other people queuing to enter the museum. As they saw the man with the camera, people would turn around, trying to figure out who he was there for. Thankfully he didn't approach Kurt but the situation was enough to make him uneasy. As soon as he was inside the building, he called Cooper and asked for a ride back.

Cooper drove a Lamborghini, though, which made his exit less smooth that he had hoped for. If the luxurious convertible with a life-sized ken doll in cool sunglasses wasn't enough, the perfect coiffed hair, Marc Jacobs's floral suit clad, handsome man running towards it just completed the picture. A picture that had, for sure, made the media's day.

-x-x-x-

"Hey, babe! Had a bit of an eventful day?" Blaine teased as soon as he found Kurt lying on the library's couch later that day.

Kurt raised an eyebrow, putting his laptop away and opening his arms for Blaine to snuggle with him. "News fly around here." He said after kissing him hello.

"Yeah, I guess now we kind of don't have much of an announcement left to make." Blaine said and Kurt couldn't really decipher if the tone was sarcasm or tiredness.

"Are you mad?"

"Why would I be?" Blaine looked up and into Kurt's eyes.

Kurt considered it. He wasn't sure why he had asked but he had the feeling he would have been if the roles were reversed. "I don't know. Cooper and I should have handled things better and you haven't even gotten to be there for most of it."

"Not really. Not at you or my brother. Are _you_ mad, Kurt?"

"Maybe." He confessed. "Not at someone, but at the situation."

"Does it really matter, though? We were doing this; we are still doing Sunday as far as I'm concerned. The way I see it, our story is always the one that happens between these walls. I'm all about being honest and real but we can't become our public persona. I can't just make the way media perceives us to be merely anecdotic, they're going to get in our business… but we can't let their thing get in here." Blaine gestured between them.

"That's easier said than done." Kurt said.

"Gosh, I know. I meant it, I'm not mad at you or my brother for having ice-cream at Piaza del Duomo and I'm actually really glad you immediately called Coop today. We're both going to mess up with these things once in a while, sometimes it just gets to you and you run away from your bodyguards, you know. Shit happens. "

"You would know," Kurt teased, remembering Blaine's one and only public scandal a couple years prior when he had escaped from an Italian celebrity's party (and Cooper and their security) and had ended up getting mobbed at a gay bar.

"Hey, everyone has their diva moments."

"I can't exactly argue with that," Kurt reasoned, "But being honest, I'm mostly mad about tomorrow."

"You can handle it."

"I don't think I should go."

"What? You were dying to go to Fashion Week!"

"We are still going to Roberto Cavalli's runway on Monday, you are not getting out of that," Kurt said, "But I don't want to speak publicly about us for the first time without you being there, Blaine."

Blaine squeezed Kurt's tight, a sweet look in his eyes. Kurt couldn't pin point exactly what it was but it felt like something soft and heavy had settled in the air.

"Together on Sunday?" Blaine asked as time started to pass again.

"Together on Sunday."

Kurt's phone started to ring. "Lucky me, an angry Santana."

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


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